Literature

Ravi Subramanian's new novel talks of RBI affairs

Published:06 November 2018

Author Ravi Subramanian, whose stories are set against the backdrop of the financial services industry, writes among other things the relations between the RBI and the finance ministry in his new book.

New Delhi | Author Ravi Subramanian, whose stories are set against the backdrop of the financial services industry, writes among other things the relations between the RBI and the finance ministry in his new book.

"Don't Tell The Governor" is a fictional story about the new governor of the country's top bank and the challenges he faces.

"On November 8, 2016, when the clocks strike 12, your money will be no good. Somewhere on the India-Nepal Border, a car full of passengers swerves off a highway and plunges into a valley, its trunk full of cash," the book says, apparently referring to demonetisation and its aftermath.

"In the UK, a Bollywood starlet wins Big Survivor, the most popular reality TV show in the country. In Panama, Central America, a whistle-blower at a law firm brings down billionaires across the globe. And in India, a new RBI Governor is appointed," it says.

The new governor is Aditya Kesavan who has been given the task of making sure he does not rock the boat. Running desperately out of time, the governor must set things right.

"The book refers to real places and real titles of people who operate in these places and in and the government and law-enforcement agencies. These have been used to lend an air of authenticity to the story, just as in a fictitious story about the Pope or the prime minister of the nation or the president of the United States of America," says Subramanian.

He says his book, published by HarperCollins India, is entirely fictional and is not intended to be a depiction of individuals who, in real life occupy these exalted positions that their titles suggest.

"The battle for one-upmanship between the RBI and the Finance Ministry continues. The bureaucrats of the ministry want the RBI to be subservient to them, whereas the RBI wants to stay autonomous.

"The pendulum swings wildly in this relationship, with the RBI trying to break free from the government stranglehold. Last heard, the balance of power was clearly tilted in the favour of the central government," Subramanian writes in his book.